Castel del Monte is a DOC of the Puglia wine region in south-eastern Italy. Its specialty is red wines (although a tiny amount of white and rosé are also produced) made from Uva di Troia complemented by Aglianico and occasionally Bombino Nero. A small quantity of white Castel del Monte is also produced each year, mostly from Bombino Bianco, Chardonnay and the little-known Pampanuto.
The 'castle on the hill' referred to in the Castel del Monte name is precisely that: an octagonal 13th-century fortification with a commanding view of the surrounding landscape. Over the centuries the castle (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) has been used as a prison, a plague shelter and finally a source of marble and stone for opportunistic locals. The hill on which it sits is almost perfectly at the center of the DOC's catchment area, which stretches from Canosa di Puglia to Grumo Appula (a distance of almost 37 miles / 60km).
Despite being wedged between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea, the climate here is both hot and dry. In fact, the Puglia region's name derives from the Latin phrase a pluvia, meaning 'without rain' and southern Italy is nicknamed Il Mezzogiorno ('the midday'), due to its long, hot summers. With 300 sunny days each year and mid-summer afternoon temperatures regularly surpassing 40C, the grapes which grow here develop high levels of sugar (and therefore potential alcohol) over the growing season.
Uva di Troia – the dark-skinned grape on which most Castel del Monte red wines are based – is a local grape variety capable of creating high-quality wines with of some of southern Italy's most characterful wines. The variety's a good balance of sugars and acids make it popular with winemakers. Unfortunately its low yields and susceptibility to downy mildew make it decidedly less popular with vine-growers and accountants, so it has never enjoyed the same kind of popularity as Puglia's top red-wine grapes, Negroamaro and Primitivo. Happily, Puglia's move towards quality-focused wine production has brought new light to Uva di Troia's future; in 2011, Uva di Troia wines from Castel del Monte were been singled out as some of Puglia's finest, and were granted full DOCG status.
In 2011, three red wine styles were singled out from the Castel del Monte wine portfolio for promotion to independent DOCG status: Castel del Monte Bombino Nero, Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva and Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva. At roughly the same time, Italy's agriculture ministry effectuated the accorpamento (absorption) of the neighboring Rosso Canosa DOC into the Castel del Monte production area, cosi' come richiesto dai produttori interessati (as requested by local wine producers).
In a region where only a small number of wineries use the DOC titles to which they are entitled, Castel del Monte is one of the more promising.
